Originally Posted by
Vaikuntha Bound.
Namaste!
I treat japa with a short period of mindfulness meditation as my basic practice. When my mind is most focused, I think about God's grace, how everything I value is in my life by His grace, and then I offer that back to Him. I try to accompany that with a short puja.
I think it's also a good habit to read a small portion of a scriptural text prayerfully, write down my understanding of it and how it fits into the larger text, and then read what a few commentaries have to say about that portion. In that way, I can work through a scripture and not just build a knowledge base, but really grow my understanding.
All the best,
VB